A Supreme Court-appointed panel looking into the IPL fixing scandal has said that gangsters Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel are the “prime movers” behind the syndicate, which is running betting across the country. “The integration of the markets along with streamlining of money transfers through hawala transactions and certainty of settlements by muscle power opened up a huge avenue of making windfall gains for this syndicate. This led to an amalgamation of multiple sub-conspiracies, all controlled and directed by the mega conspiracy of which Dawood Ibrahim and Chotta Shakeel are the prime players,” the report said.

It said that there is a huge illegal betting market in cricket matches and more particularly in the IPL. “The amounts involved are mind-boggling. The Delhi Police estimates that in one IPL match the total bets would be around Rs. 150 crore. Such an illegal betting market survives and flourishes by the muscle power of the underworld. The various police officials with whom the committee interacted unanimously endorsed the existence of the muscle power of the underworld in running the betting syndicate,” the report said.

“Investigations further revealed that Dawood Ibrahim and his aides decide the initial betting rates for each match, which as the match progresses move closer towards the rates which actually reflect the real status of the match. It is during this initial period that the bookies of the D-Company make huge profits,” the report said while referring to police investigation reports.